Lancelot walked through a short and dimly lit corridor behind the butler. He could only hope that Roxanne would adhere to his instuctions and stay at a place this time. He did not need her wandering into places she wasn't supposed to be, as she had done at his palace. Though he did not know the vampires well, he knew for a fact that he was not ready to make a scene while trying to rescue Roxanne from whatever trouble she might get into. As he continued in his line of thoughts, a black curtain was parted, revealing the magnificence of the throne room of the vampire king.Two maidens mounted the sides of the curtains, dressed in transparent black linen that allowed Lancelot see beyond the veil, to their bare bodies. He turned away sharply. His father had told him that the vampire king was a man whore, but he had not expected to be ushered in by half naked women. Lancelot was grateful for his expressionless face, it was how he was able to mask his disgust. Everything about the palace
Like a witch, she summoned all his senses immediately she walked into the room. His nostrils grew restless, his blood boiled with anticipation. And, when he set his eyes on her, Aztec was not disappointed. In front of him, stood the most delicate and beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her eyes were the colour of lavender petals, her skin glowed and her face radiated. She was the kind of beauty you wanted to lock in a cage and stare at for hours. She was the kind of beauty you could not get enough of, and Aztec was trapped already. "Speaking of hobbies. Perhaps, I have found myself one." He spoke, when he finally stopped drooling over her. Both Aztec and Lancelot watched as Roxanne strolled in beside Peter.With every step she took, she saw more reasons to be scared of this place. So, she did not need anyone to tell her to cower beside Peter. If only she could hide in his shadow, she would have done so without second thought. Roxanne sighed with relief when she finally saw Lancelo
Roxanne could only but curse the noise both inside and outside the palace for her inability to sleep at night. The eerie silence of the day when they arrived, was a sharp contrast from the hullabaloo of the night. It was almost as though everyone slept during the day and went about their daily activities at night, like nocturnal animals. And Roxanne found it extremely weird and very unpleasant. Guards walked outside the palace, the laughter of maidens could be heard and she was left to toss and turn and savour the little sleep she could get. It was bad enough that she spent most of her night listening to footsteps go to and fro her door, while she sat inside, hoping that she was safe. After her encounter with the strange king, Roxanne knew that she would have to be very wary of her movements in this palace. "Stick to my side at all times." Peter had said. Well, she would do just that. Now, the small sleep she had managed to get after hours of staring from ceiling to door to window
The sun rays hit the pit of the grand collosseun, which Peter had previously called the Flavian Amphitheatre. However, Roxanne was struck with the realisation that apart from the pit of the collosseum, where the fight was to take place, the rows and columns where the audience and musicians sat where shielded from the sun with a thick canopy of brick roofs. Peter had said it was to shield the audience away from the scorching sun, seeing as the fight could sometimes take hours, and Roman sun rays were not as friendly as the ones of the spring, summer and even autumn sun in London, or back in her hometown in America. For this, Roxanne was grateful. The thought of being sunburned along with hundreds of thousands of people was not really a good one for her. Now, she could watch the fight in peace. All around them, the crowd agitated, musicians played drums while the rest of the audience screamed strange chants of war. Roxanne saw Peter nod to the the rythym once or twice, as though he w
From where she sat, Roxanne watched in horror. The man she was looking at was a totally different person. She could almost see the flames of anger burning around him. Subconsciously, she gripped the linen of Peter's suit trouser. He stared down at her, she was visibly shaking. "Are you alright?" "What is this?" She asked breathlessly, while her stunned gaze was fixed on the beast that had taken over Lancelot, and the laughing maniac he was so close to killing. "Tradition." Peter replied curtly. A knot tightened in Roxanne's stomach, she wanted nothing more than to lower her head and vomit. The sight of so much blood was making her nauseous, but she said nothing. What kind of tradition was this? She would have thought that with the way everyone in the palace was so prim and proper, they would have better things in their tradition than a bloody gladiator fight. Lancelot continued to pound Aztec's face, but the man wouldn't just shut up. "Why are you so angry my prince? Not that s
"Let's get out of here. Now." His voice continued to echo in her ears and blacked out every other sound in the Amphitheatre. Immediately his skin came in contact with hers, her senses stood at attention. The hairs on her skin stood alert, and Roxane found it hard to breathe. As he led her down the steps, through the crowd of people, Roxanne could only see him. Nothing else that happened in the room mattered, only his warm and sandy hold on her was important. Roxanne thought back to how long she had waited for his touch. All those times she had secretly prayed that he looked at her, said a word to her. Finally, he had acknowledged her. Finally, he had seen her, and now he was holding her. What better thing could happen today? Lancelot held her and led her through the crowd, into the hollow corridor beyond the iron bars, they led the way to a row of bathrooms. Peter was trotting behind them, while the guards behind him made sure that no one from the audience came close to them. Whe
Peter had not expected any form of enthusiasm from Lancelot. So, he did not know why the man's lack of excitement seemed to bother him. Nevertheless, they had to move forward. There was much more ahead for all of them. Once again, Lancelot and Roxanne ended up at the back seat, while Peter sat at the front. "I was unable to make reservations at any hotel sire. Every single one in this city seemed to be occupied. Rome is indeed a busy city. But, I have found an exquisite hotel online that had vacant rooms, so we'll be heading there." Peter spoke from the front seat, and Lancelot only murmured something, but it was in approval. Peter smiled curtly and turned to the driver. "Hall of Athena, please." He said aloud, and the dark haired driver nodded in understanding. Throughout the ride, Roxanne made sure that she did not glance at Lancelot. She had decided it was time to abolish thoughts of ever being with him from her mind. She was tired of being constantly tossed about by him. His
Wrapped in his arms, their heartbeats syncing, and his nose buried in her chest, Roxanne felt like she would finally be able to get some sleep. Ever since they embarked on this weird business trip, it had been impossible to even get a minute of rest, and she was grateful for the opportunity to close her eyes in peace. Until it wasn't so peaceful anymore. It was dark from the moment she closed her eyes, but something about the darkness she saw now was strange. It was thick and heavy, like she could stretch her hand into the empty void and hold the blackness. Roxanne shifted in her sleep, her eyelids pressed themselves together. Her heartbeat suddenly picked up a racing pace. Something about the darkness seemed to suck life away from her, she was finding it difficult to breathe. Animalistic growls emanated from everywhere around her. It felt like four wolves were around her, but she could not see them. She could only hear their howling and growling, all in anger. She was not welco